Investment in Opportunity. The Importance of Voluntary Support to Predominantly Negro Public Colleges.

National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, Washington, DC.

The 35 predominantly Negro public colleges and universities in the US receive an average of less than 1% of their income from private sources. Since public institutions are excluded from the United Negro College Fund, these colleges depend on state governments, tuition and student fees, auxiliary enterprises such as dormitories and bookstores, and the federal government. Altogether, the 35 institutions award approximately 10,000 bachelors and 1,300 master's degrees a year, one half of which are in education and an increasing number in business and science. These public institutions have now reached a critical stage, brought on by chronic shortages of funds and rising student enrollments. Growth at the freshman level is outpacing many other state and land-grant institutions. The average family income of these students is $3,300 a year, and they can barely afford current tuition rates. Almost 90% of their families earn less than $6,000 per year in contrast to the national median among college students of $9,500. State governments, increasingly pressed by new educational demands, are decreasing their contribution to operating funds of these colleges and universities. Increased private support would enable these institutions to raise faculty salaries, support advanced study for faculty members, attract and retain top scholars, increase scholarship and loan funds, modernize their facilities, and upgrade some of their programs. (WM)